Romper stomper of a panto will have you roaring

Romper stomper of a panto will have you roaring

What do you get if you cross a gin swilling Scouse fairy god mother, a pink Mohicaned Buttons, two raucous and racy step sisters and a classic fairy tale? A Christmas cracker of a panto a Milford's Torch Theatre of course.

Cinderella is playing at the theatre until Saturday, January 3rd. Written and directed by Peter Doran this festive feast comes with a lot of the classic panto ingredients, catchy songs, a generous dollop of audience interaction and a good amount of cross dressing.

For me the ugly sisters stole the show. I'm not usually a great fan of a dame but Dion Davies, now in his fourth year as the Torch's panto dame, had me chortling with his ad libbed one liners, vibrant costumes and outrageous behaviour.

Liam Tobin, as sister Hygiene, was equally hilarious and the pair got the audience singing, dancing and roaring with laughter.

Sophie Melville as Dandini was another outstanding performance, a natural performer and all rounder who really stood out on stage. Her chemistry with Oliver Wood's Buttons crackled even before she outed herself as another panto cross dresser.

Other memorable moments included the transformation of a scooter and a pumpkin into the most magical coach, a soul singing fairy godmother and the ugly sisters' yappy lap dogs.

Hats off to Peter Doran for both writing and directing this pantomime. I particularly enjoyed the witty contemporary and local references in the songs and my four year old has been humming them around the house.

My only criticism would be, in the light of said four year old, the eponymous heroine was rather two dimensional. Wouldn't it be great to have a Cinders with a bit more oomph about her, who had a bit more going for her than just being pretty and nice? Maybe creating a strong, fun and interesting female role model for an audience composed predominantly of young girls is the next panto challenge for the Torch.

Feminist misgivings aside this is a romper stomper of a panto that was thoroughly enjoyed by three generations of my family. We are already looking forward to next year's Jack and the Beanstalk.

Ipsoregulated

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